Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy is the only Indian film at Cannes 2023; Sudhir Mishra says ‘you can’t keep him down for long’

The official line-up of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival was unveiled on Thursday, and only one Indian film has made it to the list. Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy has been selected as part of the Midnight Screenings section of the festival, which will take place from May 16-27. (Also read: Anurag Kashyap responds to Divya Agarwal’s request for audition: ‘Humbled by this…’)

The official Twitter handle of the Cannes Film Festival announced the selection of Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy in the Midnight Screenings section of the festival. “KENNEDY by Anurag KASHYAP #SéanceDeMinuit / #MidnightScreenings #Cannes2023,” read the post. Kennedy stars Sunny Leone, Rahul Bhatt and Abhilash Thapliyal. Details about the movie have been kept under wraps.

This is not the first film of Anurag to mark its presence at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival Cannes. The filmmaker had screened his now-iconic feature film Gangs of Wasseypur at the 2012 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, which is an independent section of the Cannes Film Festival. In 2013, Ugly was screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival, where it also received a standing ovation. Following that, Raman Raghav 2.0 also premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival in the Director’s Fortnight section. Even Bombay Talkies, the anthology film in which Anurag Kashyap served as one of the directors, had also premiered under the Special Screenings section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Reacting to the news, filmmaker Sudhir Mishra tweeted, “You can’t keep Kashyap down for long . Our guy is back !!!!” Filmmaker Arati Kadav tweeted, “This brings so much happiness @anuragkashyap72 in his home turf with Scorsese, Kore-eda and Wes Anderson. So happy so proud. So much love and joy.” Anurag’s last film was Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat, which starred Alaya F and Karan Mehta. The romantic musical released on February 3.

This year’s Cannes Film Festival will mark the premiere of new films from Martin Scorsese, Wim Wenders, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Todd Haynes and Hirokazu Kore-eda. Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund, who won last year’s Palme d’Or with Triangle of Sadness, will preside over the Main Competition jury. Maïwenn’s historical drama, Jeanne du Barry, starring Johnny Depp as Louis XV, is slated to open the festival.